If you need to disable AVG for another program to work, you can do so from within the AVG interface. You can also completely remove AVG if it is causing more problems than its worth. It is recommended that you enable another antivirus program to replace it, such as Windows Defender.

Steps

Method1

Disabling AVG (Windows)

1

Double-click the AVG icon in your system tray. This is located in the lower-right corner of the desktop, next to the clock. You may have to expand the icons if you don't see AVG.

If you still can't find AVG, open the Start menu or screen and type "avg" to search for it.

2

Click the Options menu in the upper-right corner. This will display the AVG menu.

3

Select "Advanced settings." A new window will open with additional settings.

4

Click the "Temporarily Disable AVG Protection" option. You'll find this in the left menu of the Advanced Settings window.

5

Click the "Temporarily Disable AVG Protection" button. This will prompt you to choose how long you want to disable it for.

6

Select how long you want to disable AVG for. You can choose 5, 10, or 15 minutes, or you can disable AVG until your restart your computer.

If you want to permanently disable AVG, see the next section for uninstallation instructions. You can replace AVG with Windows Defender, which comes free with Windows and is pretty much just as effective.[1]

7

Check "Disable Firewall protection" if you want to turn the firewall off as well. You'll likely need to do this if you're using programs that connect through special ports, such as file-sharing programs. It is not recommended that you leave your firewall disabled for long periods of time.

8

Click "OK" to save your changes. AVG will be disabled for the amount of time that you specified. Be careful if you're using the internet, as you are not currently protected from viruses and malware.

Method2

Uninstalling AVG (Windows)

1

Open the Control Panel. If AVG is taking too many resources or conflicting with your programs, you can uninstall it and replace it with Windows Defender.

You can open the Control Panel from the Start menu, or by right-clicking the Windows button and selecting Control Panel (Windows 10 and 8).

2

Select "Programs and Features." If you're in category view, click "Uninstall a program." A list of installed programs will appear.

3

Click "AVG Protection" (if present). You'll need to uninstall AVG's additional services before you can uninstall AVG itself. The most common of these is AVG Protection.

4

Click the "Uninstall" button. This button appears at the top of the list after you select a program. This will launch the AVG uninstaller.

5

Click "Uninstall" in the AVG uninstaller to remove the program. You'll be prompted to restart your computer, which you can skip at the moment.

6

Uninstall AVG after uninstalling all related programs. Once you've removed all of the programs that AVG installed along with it, you can uninstall AVG itself. Select "AVG," click "Uninstall," then follow the prompts in the uninstaller.

7

Restart your computer after uninstalling all AVG programs. This will finalize the removal process.

8

Run the AVG removal tool if you can't uninstall AVG. If you encounter errors during the uninstallation process, or AVG otherwise refuses to uninstall, you can use a utility from the AVG developers to completely remove it from your system:

Visit avg.com/utilities in your browser.

Download the "AVG Remover" program. You may be prompted by your browser to download the file since it is in EXE format.

Run the EXE file after downloading it and click "Continue" to remove all traces of AVG.

9

Enable Windows Defender after removing AVG. It is not recommended that you use your computer online without virus protection of some kind enabled. Windows comes with Windows Defender, which can protect from most of the same attacks that AVG protected against.[2]

Open the Start menu or screen and type "Windows Defender."

Click the link to enable Windows Defender if prompted.

Click the "Check for updates now" button to download any available Windows Defender updates.

Method3

Disabling AVG (Mac)

1

Open the AVG program. If you need to temporarily disable AVG on your Mac, you can turn off realtime protection from within the AVG program.

You can open AVG by clicking the button in your menu bar and selecting "Open AVG." You can also find AVG in your Applications folder.

2

Click the "On" menu underneath "Realtime Protection" and select "Off." This will turn AVG off so that it isn't constantly monitoring your system.

3

Enable AVG again when you're done. After you're finished with whatever it is that required AVG disabled, turn it back on to begin protecting your system again.

If you want to permanently remove AVG for your Mac, see the next section.

Method4

Uninstalling AVG (Mac)

1

Open the AVG program. You can open it from the AVG icon in your menu bar, or by opening your Applications folder and finding AVG.

You won't be able to uninstall AVG by dragging it to your Trash like most Mac programs. It will need to be uninstalled from within the AVG program itself.

2

Turn off realtime protection. This can help fix some problems you may have during uninstallation. Click the "On" menu underneath Realtime Protection and select "Off."

3

Click the "AVG AntiVirus" menu and select "Uninstall AVG AntiVirus." This will start the uninstaller.